A riot is at bottom the language of the unheard.
—Martin Luther King Jr., c. 1967Quotes
Every communist must grasp the truth: “Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.”
—Mao Zedong, 1938The U.S. presidency is a Tudor monarchy plus telephones.
—Anthony Burgess, 1972A real leader is somebody who can help us overcome the limitations of our own individual laziness and selfishness and weakness and fear and get us to do better, harder things than we can get ourselves to do on our own.
—David Foster Wallace, 2000Envy is the basis of democracy.
—Bertrand Russell, 1930The most hateful torment for men is to have knowledge of everything but power over nothing.
—Herodotus, c. 425 BCThe vice presidency isn’t worth a pitcher of warm piss.
—John Nance Garner, c. 1967Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them.
—Paul Valéry, 1943Do that which consists in taking no action, and order will prevail.
—Laozi, c. 500 BCOut of the crooked timber of humanity no straight thing was ever made.
—Immanuel Kant, 1784I’m president of the United States, and I’m not going to eat any more broccoli!
—George H. W. Bush, 1990Why has the government been instituted at all? Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice without constraint.
—Alexander Hamilton, 1787The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all.
—G.K. Chesterton, 1908